'I don't hate you, I hate the disease'

Drunken driving victim's family asks for leniency

Jan. 26, 2013

Darren Boomgarden

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A Sioux Falls man who struck and killed a woman in a summer drunken driving accident was sentenced to five years in prison Friday after the victim’s family asked the judge for leniency and told him they forgave him.

Darren Lee Boomgarden, who was arrested after the July 28 crash that claimed the life of 36-year-old Tracy Handel, has told authorities that he doesn’t remember much of what happened that night.

On Friday, Boomgarden wept, clutching a small Bible in his shackled hands, when Handel’s family members spoke.

He had been drinking Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Bacardi rum and had taken some Trazodone, a prescription sleep aid, before going to bed the night of the incident, he told the court last month when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and second-offense DUI.

But he couldn’t sleep that night, so he drove to the Taco John’s on Minnesota Avenue.

Boomgarden remembers leaving the restaurant and turning south on Minnesota Avenue, but said he does not remember being on 26th Street. He said he remembers seeing a red light, and then the hood flew up on his vehicle.

Police say Boomgarden struck the motorcycle, driven by Sean Burns of Hartford, at the Grange Avenue intersection. The bike became lodged in the Jeep’s grill, and Boomgarden dragged it for a block before it shook loose. Burns and Handel were thrown clear, and Boomgarden drove to his Euclid Avenue home.

Handel and Burns, both recovering alcoholics, were returning from a 12-step celebration the night they were struck by Boomgarden, Minnehaha County deputy state’s attorney Tara Widmer said.

Handel, a Washington High School graduate, died at Sanford USD Medical Center. Burns received multiple injuries from the incident.

“Darren doesn’t have any explanation as to why he didn’t stop,” his defense lawyer, Michelle Thomas, said in court Friday. “I don’t believe it was a decision he made consciously.”

Police officers followed a trail of fluids from the crash site to Boomgarden’s garage. Upon seeing the damage to the Jeep, they asked Boomgarden what had happened. He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13 when jailers drew blood about an hour after the crash, officials said.

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Thomas said Boomgarden has, since the crash, expressed an enormous amount of guilt and remorse and was almost unresponsive during the first five or six days in jail, not eating. During his time in custody, he started a treatment program, and he wants to get out of prison to help Burns repay any medical bills.

“I’m sorry for what I did, for what I caused,” he said Friday, with a wavering voice. “I take full responsibility for what I’ve done, and although I can’t change the past, I can change the future and spend the rest of my life living every day to honor Tracy and to help Sean in any way I can.”

Boomgarden will be eligible for parole after about two years of his sentence. As part of his sentence, he will be required to speak about his experiences to high schools and other groups when he gets out of prison. He also is not to commit any alcohol-related traffic crimes or other felonies for five years.

Handel’s family told Judge Kathleen Caldwell they want to have contact with Boomgarden, and many family members told him Friday that they forgive him.

“I don’t hate you,” Andrew Handel, Tracy Handel’s brother, said to Boomgarden. “I just hope you learn from this and hope you get on with your life when you get out.”

“Tracy wouldn’t want this to be in vain,” she said. “I believe with all my heart that it’s more important that we learn from this. I don’t hate you, I hate the disease. I hope you get the help you need, more than anything.”

Kucera gave Boomgarden a Bible with some pages bookmarked.

Many who spoke at the sentencing hugged Boomgarden after speaking before the court.

Boomgarden tearfully said, “I’m sorry,” as Handel’s sister, Tammy Handel, went to hug him in the defendant’s chair. She wept while hugging him, saying, “It’s going to be OK.”

Caldwell said Boomgarden’s remorse has been apparent, and that, coupled with the family’s wishes for leniency, brought her to the sentence she imposed.

“Every time I’ve seen him the courtroom, it’s apparent that it just tears him apart,” she said, adding to have such support from the victim’s family is not often seen in cases such as this.

Tracy Handel had a bubbly personality and an infectious laugh and always will be remembered and honored, family members said, and forgiving Boomgarden would be what she would want them to do.

“She led a beautiful example of a life,” Tammy Handel said of her sister. “To know her was to love her.”